More kettle kindness from Salvation Army's mysterious 'St. Grand'

Article by: Paul Walsh

Star Tribune

December 4, 2013 - 4:22 PM

Another round of mystery moola has struck the Salvation Army’s red kettles, bringing to six the number of anonymous donations in the form of 10 $100 bills so far this fundraising season, the charity reported Wednesday.

Four donations were left Tuesday in the charity’s holiday kettles, two of them in the same Roseville locations where the first two were dropped earlier this holiday season: one at Rainbow on Larpenteur Avenue and the other at the Byerly’s on County Road C, said Salvation Army spokeswoman Annette Bauer.

Two more bundles of joy were left at the Cub Foods off Lexington Avenue in Arden Hills, one in the kettle at the entrance door and another with the bell ringer at the exit door, she said.

This is the third year that St. Grand, so dubbed by the Salvation Army, has been making these four-figure gestures. Actually, the charity has yet to rule out the possibility of numerous people sharing the same benevolent strategy. Four of these donations were made beyond the metro area in Minnesota, the farthest being in Morris and International Falls.

The previous two years’ thousand-dollar-at-a-time donations have totaled $45,000.

In the Twin Cities, the Salvation Army aims to raise $10.8 million between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31 through the red kettle campaign and online or mail-in donations. Bauer said the money raised in November and December makes up about a third of the organization’s annual donations, supporting programs such as after-school kids’ programs, shelter meals and donated clothing.